17-Year-Old Bronx Boy Survives Six-Story Elevator Plunge

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 17-year-old Bronx boy miraculously survived after the elevator he was riding in plunged six stories Thursday night.

The accident happened around 9 p.m. in a building on Woodycrest Avenue in the Highbridge section of the borough.

1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg with Kenneth Lacen

Kenneth Lacen was heading home after visiting his friend's apartment when he said the elevator plummeted from the fifth floor to the basement.

"I just heard the thing pop and it just went down," Kenneth Lacen said. "I thought I was going to die."

The Grace Dodge High School sophomore said his life flashed before his eyes as his body was tossed around in the elevator during the free-fall.

"When it came down I flew in the air, I hurt my back and my knee," Lacen said.

He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital where he was treated for leg, back and neck injuries.

Lacen said the problematic elevator was an accident waiting to happen and that just before the fall, the inside door suddenly opened and then closed.

"I'm just happy I'm alive," Lacen said.

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